A THINNING band of veterans yesterday defied the advancing years to return to the scene of their finest and most terrifying hour – the beaches of Normandy.

D-Day veterans were on parade at Bayeux Cathedral to mark the 74th anniversary (Image: GETTY)

The 40 old soldiers, all now in their 90s and accompanied by families and carers, marked the 74th anniversary of D-Day by attending services in Bayeux organised by The Royal British Legion.

On June 6, 1944, they were young men, spearheading the Allied assault on Hitler’s Atlantic Wall in the biggest land invasion in history, liberating Europe from Nazi tyranny.

The veterans included James Corrigan, 94, originally from Gateshead and now living in Surrey, who waded ashore on D-Day and straight into the fury of Gold Beach.

He had lied about his age to join the Army at 17 – and on that blood-soaked June morning he was already a veteran at 20 of the campaigns in North Africa and Sicily. He had risen through the ranks from a private to a lieutenant, leading men much older than himself.

Beautiful colour photographs of our D-Day heroes to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the Normandy Landings.

Troops from the 48th Royal Marines at Saint-Aubin-sur-mer on Juno Beach

It is important we remember this day so that my comrades are not forgotten. We owe them a debt

James Corrigan - Veteran

But yesterday, in cold, damp, unseasonal weather, he returned with his family, pushed in his wheelchair by his son Bernard. They attended a service at Bayeux Cathedral and a commemoration at the nearby Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.

James, who after war service worked as a civil engineer, was proud to perform a reading at the cemetery before visiting the graves of comrades.

He said: “I went in on D-Day at 7.45am with the Durham Light Infantry and at 6am this morning the weather was the same as it was 74 years ago – rough, cold and grey with high waves. It was repeating itself. It was amazing.

“We went in on Gold Beach under the German batteries. I was wet, miserable and frightened. It was hard going. We did not land where we should have done and had to cross some rough ground to get to where we were supposed be, where the Green Howards were ahead of us.

James Corrigan, 94, aded ashore on D-Day and straight into the fury of Gold Beach (Image: GETTY)

Royal British Legion is urging veterans who wish to attend next year’s 75th anniversary to register (Image: GETTY)

“One of their men, Stanley Hollis won the Victoria Cross, that day in the fighting.

“I have been coming here with my family for the past 30 years and it brings it all back. “I have been very privileged today to do a reading here at the cemetery where a lot of my past comrades have been buried. I don’t think of any in particular. There were so many killed.

“We veterans are getting fewer in number but we are all sticking together and the respect given us by the French is wonderful.

“It is important we remember this day so that my comrades are not forgotten. We owe them a debt. They won us our liberty.”

Ceremonies are being planned in Normandy, on the South Coast, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, and in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Charles Byrne, director general of the Royal British Legion, said: “D-Day 75 is only a year away and significant plans are already afoot. “We want to ensure that every veteran can mark this incredibly important occasion exactly where and how they want.”